Firearm Ban for Committing Domestic Violence Upheld

A lifetime firearms ban is upheld for convictions of misdemeanor crimes of domestic violence, including a conviction for reckless domestic assault 

Voisine v. United States, U.S., 14–10154, 6/27/16.

   The Supreme Court upheld a federal law that creates a lifetime ban for those convicted of domestic violence crimes, including misdemeanors, from owning a firearm. The Court analyzed the statutory text, coupled with the context of the passage of the act prohibiting firearm ownership, and recognized the recklessness standard for triggering the ban. The Court focused on the statute’s reference of “use…of physical force,” noting that there was no distinction between domestic assaults that were knowingly or intentionally committed and those that were committed recklessly when such force was used. The court continued by saying thee ultimate purpose of the statute was “to take guns out of the hands of abusers convicted under the misdemeanor assault laws then in general use in the States,” which the majority of states have already extended to encompass reckless assaults.

http://src.bna.com/ggr